7.28.2009

Le Nouveau Monde (« Brave New World ») is the original title of a tracks selection of rare French psychedelics which has been initially curated for Radio Nova / Sauvagine and played on Os Court, a radio show ran by Captain in November 2008. This unreleased mixtape is here published as (almost) unedited exactly as it was played then (without talkovers). This tape has been selected in order to work as a teaser and a possible soundscape for the exhibition IΔO. Psychedelic Explorations in France, 1968 - ∞, which took place at CAPC Museum of Contemporary Art in Bordeaux from November 28th 2008-March 8th 2010. Curators : Yann Chateigné, Axelle & Tiphanie Blanc, Bertrand Grimault, Maxime Guitton, installation by Lili Reynaud Dewar, visual identity by Laurent Fétis.

7.16.2009

Laraaji Nadabrahmananda (b. 1943 as Edward Larry Gordon) is a meditator, laugh-master and cosmic musician. After working as a stand-up comedian and actor, he discoverd Eastern mysticism in the early seventies. He started using zither and turned it into an electronic instrument, playing it as a piano. In 1979, he was playing in Washington Square Park when Brian Eno discovered him. They recorded “Ambient #3—Day of Radiance" released in 1980.

In addition to concerts Laraaji has been an contributor to healing arts festivals and conferences as his celestial sounds create a warm and soothing atmosphere for both presenters and visitors. The Healing Sounds Intensive with Jonathan Goldman, the Life Spectrums Conference and the Freedom Healing Arts Festival are listed as his annual conferences.

A devotee of the late Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, founder of the Ananda Ashram in Harriman, New York, Laraaji is the creator and facilitator of Laughter Meditation Workshops in the United States and abroad; empowering workshops that acknowledge and honor the ability of our laughter to take us into deep relaxation and receptivity to meditation.

7.14.2009

George Brecht in John Cage's class at New School for Social Research, New York, 1958 (back : Allan Kaprow unexpectedly shaved)

Event score from George Brecht's Water Yam (1963, Fluxus Editions, New York)

Here comes an excerpt from Entrance, a masterpiece by George Brecht with (Pope) George Maciunas. The performance was recorded in 1962 on a cassette by James Tenney and published in 1990 by the Audio Cassette Magazine Tellus #24 curated by archivist Barbara Moore (also featuring early sound art by Dick Higgins, Alison Knowles, Joe Jones, Philip Corner, Kosugi, Jackson Mac Low, and Peter Moore for the cover art). The piece consist in a linear transition from white noise to sinus wave tone. The title is normally announced at the beginning and announced at the end by a tape played backward : here again, music is, well, almost anything.

"Making a tape is like writing a letter – there's a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again... you've got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention, and then you've got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch, and you can't have white music and black music together... and you can't have two tracks by the same artist side by side, unless you've done the whole thing in pairs... and, oh, there are loads of rules."Nick Hornby, High Fidelity